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Sunday, February 28, 2010

The recent fallout over the excommunication of freedom activist, devout Ron Paul supporter, and YouTube's PuZzLeD reality TV show star Brooke Kelley from the Ladies of Liberty Alliance (LOLA), which is an alleged pro-Liberty organization that has billed and sold itself as an advocate for women (who are already) in the libertarian movement and bringing the said gender into both the movement and the group, has already generated a lot of controversy -- not to mention a paramount amount of noise -- on and out of Facebook and among many activists and members in their respective cliques -- and circles -- in an already-fractured political wing of the movement. The group, which was founded in 2009 by relative political newcomer Allison Gibbs (who is a 27-year-old former government scientist and AIDS researcher employed by the U.S. Department of Defense [which lasted for 8 years] and is the current Outreach Director for the Campaign for Liberty), has been a long-time talked-about staple in the Ron Paul wing of the political movement, garnering support from a number of pro-Liberty activists because of its goal to boost the female numbers of activists who, in the past, have been inadequate in the eyes of many of the movement's finest men and women longing for new blood. If anything, these individuals' desire to keep the grass-roots networking and projects on the Liberty train on the move by pushing for more inclusion of liberty-loving women in the ranks. What they didn't count on was that it was going to crumble before it could achieve anything to begin with, especially from a pro-freedom standpoint.

The ruckus erupted when Kelley, the darling of the Ron Paul movement (who recently spoke out in defense of Paul over his call to support Lamar Smith), went public with LOLA's decision to kick her out on Facebook because of the group's claim that she "frightened" Ron Paul with a question as to how important the "truth" regarding 9/11 was to the people (in reference to the 9/11 Truthers' desire to know why Paul hasn't been asking why the government has been withholding information about what transpired on that day). That angered the powers-that-be at C4L at the recent CPAC event over her questions, even though she even heckled Glenn Beck for "stealing the Tea Party movement" and John Ashcroft for pushing to make "raves illegal" and his casual contempt for the Constitution, and attempted to confront conservative hit woman Ann Coulter with a question as well (her security stopped Kelley before she could even ask such a question). Kelley (and many others on Facebook) points out in her latest PuZzLeD video that a C4L employee met with her and told her that there was a group planning to "heckle" Glenn Beck. The problem was that, just prior to Beck's speech, word was coming down the pike (from Ron Paul himself) that anyone who is discovered to have heckled him would be denounced by the group. That didn't stop Kelley from doing just that.

Just after she did it, she was subsequently kicked out of C4L. (The details as to how and what the procedures were for kicking her out are rather unclear at this point, but more information will be available.) LOLA Core, which consists of Allison Gibbs and only several members of the the entire LOLA Board (including long-time freedom activist and Antiwar.com employee Angela Keaton), had a meeting and voted on whether to dismiss Kelley from the group. The vote was largely unanimous: Brooke was to be shown the door*.

Brooke came public with the following on Friday, 10:57 AM:

Brooke Kelley So let me get this straight. Im kicked out of Campaign for Liberty, for asking Glenn Beck a question, and kicked out of LOLA for asking Ron Paul a question. Reminds me of getting cuffed at the border for asking that cop a question. Hmmm. I still love you, but seriously--let's not just Talk about freedom--let's LIVE Fre...e!! Let's RISE ABOVE our enemies and UNIFY--not exclude truth-telling, liberty loving ACTIVISTs."

Immediately, pro-freedom activists across the aisle jumped on the bandwagon, trying to find out what happened. Here are some of the comments that were made:

Chris Tolliver ⒶWhat the hell happened!!??Fri at 10:59am

Brooke KelleyI asked Glenn Beck a question, after Ron Paul explicitly said if anyone heckles Beck, they are no longer in the C4L community. So I asked Ron Paul a question too, and apparently that was offensive to LOLA, and they voted me off the island.

Don't Live free. Come pay for Liberty! ...B.Fri at 11:02am

Lille ØrnStay strong freedomfighter! Listen to this program , lots of stuff going on http://www.americanfreedomradio.com/archive/Jack-Blood-32k-022410.mp3Fri at 11:03am

Chris Tolliver ⒶWow. This is why I stay away from any organization that supports politicians.Fri at 11:04am

Debra Dedmonthey friggin kicked you out ?? r u effin kidding me / Um that just makes me justa little more suspicious of them all, and i was already suspicious of C4L, but why the hell shouldthey care u asked Neocon Beck a question , crazy!! but LOLA , that is surprising. doyou mean they kicked u out of an event or out f the group?? i distrust anyone who takes unkindly to the power of questionsFri at 11:04am

Aj AriasUnity!Fri at 11:05am

Lille ØrnTRUTH will allways win. No matter what!Fri at 11:06am

Jay DoobieWait, they kicked you out for asking questions? I think I'm no longer going to support LOLA or CfL.Fri at 11:07am

Diana Isabel MirandaWhat were the questions anyways?Fri at 11:07am

Aaron ProctorWhat did you ask? Sounds like it's weird you'd be randomly kicked out.Fri at 11:09am

Jennapher Frankie LawsonIt's horrifyingly common to use "unify" and be ostracized. :-sFri at 11:11am

Joanna ReedBrooke, I've known Ron Paul personally since college (over 12 yrs now) and he is a gentleman. There has to be more to this story than you're presenting. Ron Paul is, and always will be, someone I support. Do you think there's a common denominator here? You'll catch more flies with honey.Fri at 11:13am

Greg JentI would really like to know the details and to see the Ron Paul comment on not being allowed to ask Beck questions. I'm so confused :)Fri at 11:13am

Danzilla GreenNot to be a dick but it's with in an organization's right to boot you...

That being said, screw CFL, they're all minarchist knuckle heads anyways.Fri at 11:14am

Michael Caulfieldagain, what question did you ask that idiot Beck?Fri at 11:23am

Carolyn TaratutaWhat's that all about... Makes one wonder.Fri at 11:27am

Chris Cooleywow , totally disassociating myself with those two groups ..Fri at 11:33am

Reagen Dandridge Desiletsthe constitution allows for questions to be asked. any 'liberty' group that boots someone for that raises eyebrows. i'm glad i've backed off lola and c4l. i love my freedom but do not dedicate myself to any one group or politician. i've always said if ron paul is the man i hope he is, he would welcome our vigilance!!!Fri at 11:33am

Bobbie Dee Anderson<> Thanks Brooke.Fri at 11:39am

Danielle KaysI was thinking the same thing, Joe.Fri at 11:44am

Reagen Dandridge Desiletsdetails would be nice for curiosity's sake alone. again, the constitution allows for us to talk, even when we disagree... anyone that claims to protect the constitution but also censors is breaking the thin ice they r walking on.Fri at 11:45am

Amber DanelleYou are totally misrepresenting what happened in the above statement. No one kicked you out of anything for ASKING QUESTIONS. Nothing is wrong with asking questions.

Brooke.... You are a serious trip, and I was totally thrown off last night after hearing from you what had happened.Thought the drama was OVER.... See More:-/

And Joe: It is definitely NOT over anything having to do with Medina. And this isn't "sudden", either.

Brooke: You talk a lot about unifying and unity and rising above the enemy... but here you are talking SHITE about other freedom activists. Seriously... I hadn't seen you do this for a while (and, honestly, I hadn't been paying attention to your page) and I thought it was done with. If something bothers you you spread rumors and discontent about LOLA & C4L.... this is totally going against people working together. And nothing is wrong with whistle-blowing a group or person... but you are doing so without cause, woman. Nobody really know what happened this past weekend. And this whole silly situation could have been way more relaxed if you didn't like to blow things out of proportion.

I had hoped I could work with you in the future.I had hoped to get to know a good side of you, as I think you are a beautiful person. ♥ Truly.After meeting you last year I'd only really experienced drama and outbursts (and I'm not saying you were always loud or uber-obnoxious) from you... silly things that I had no idea about, you saying that LOLA is talking poo about you WHEN THAT ISN'T TRUE!!We don't sit around talking about you, Brooke.We don't care... we just want to get shit DONE.Seriously!

And now, here you are again, telling people that LOLA is bad in some way... and people are FOLLOWING YOU and believing what you say!!We work hard within our group to get stuff done and to enjoy each other as good freedom friends and confidantes! It is so WONDERFUL to be a part of LOLA... but you are sharing way-off information with people and telling people we are nutters. Wow. I have never MET anyone like you, girl. I believed that we could start to work together again. But, I guess that can't be.

Normally I would have sent this to you in a message. Unlike you, I tend to not want to air my grievances in public (unless it's some politician JACKING with my life, etc.) because sometimes one can be overly-passionate or mis-informed about a situation. And those who are listening to your aired grievances only know YOUR SIDE of the story and, therefore, cannot make a smart judgement of the situation.But, today, I'm going to post this on your status because I want everyone to know that YOU are causing this disruption, this silly-ness.

I won't be surprised if you delete my comment. At least you, and the good people above, will have read something from the "other side".

Honestly, who cares about all this dang drama anyways!? I just wanna bring freedom back to the people of this country!! I thought I was out of high school.Okay, I'm done on this subject.

Hope you have a great day... ♥Love & Light & Liberty to you, Brooke.Fri at 11:46am

Matt D. Harris, a Libertarian Party member, responded to Amber by saying:

Matt D. HarrisAmber, I didn't see Brooke claim that LOLA were nutters, just that she got kicked out of the group for asking Ron Paul a question. I'm reserving judgment until I hear what the question is. Obviously asking him something political but a bit pushy is one thing (and OK, imho) whereas something like "when did you stop beating your wife?" might be a little less appropriate. :PFri at 11:56am

Amber responded with this remark:

Amber DanelleHey Matt: Brooke didn't technically say that LOLA was a group of "nutters" (those are my own words)... but she says we kicked her out and alludes to the idea that it was because she asked questions of figureheads. Whatever she is saying: it's got some people thinking that they don't want to associate with us.

Again, nothing is wrong with asking questions. That is one of the most important things we can do as good citizens, obviously. And I never heard any of Brooke's questions this weekend. In fact, I had no idea about any of this until last night when some silly stuff went down (thanks for that, Brooke).

I only heard her say one thing @ CPAC, and it was a badass moment when she called out Ashcroft (he was all discombobulated after she barked out something at him - HILARIOUS!) ~ When I found out it was her I was excited and wanted to congratulate her on a job well done. But my tipsyness at after-parties prevented me from remembering it.... See More

As far as what she asked Glenn & Dr. Paul - I have no idea what she asked. Again, it wasn't about what she asked.

Matt D. HarrisAmber, so how does someone get kicked out of LOLA? I know some people involved but I'm not familiar with the organization's inner workings. Was Brooke in a board or committee position or something?Fri at 12:24pm

Amber Danelle responds with the following (yet nonsensical quip):

Amber DanelleMatt: I had no idea about the kicking out and what was done to get kicked out. As far as the technical process, I'm not sure either. We LOLAs don't like to let drama cloud our projects or discussion... so we don't make it a priority to talk about this type of stuff when we're trying to do work (at least I never hear about it - until the end). It's super freakin' cool to work with women who aren't all about yakkin' about drama-crap all day. THANK GOD! Women can be weird, as we all know. :-)

It's also not kosher for me to talk about specifics, because I would prefer to squelch the drama. I barely know specifics anyway. But what I heard from Brooke last night is enough for me to form at least a minor opinion. And whatever I've typed here is from ME to HER .... and not from LOLA to HER. ... See More

LOLA is freakin' awesome, in fact!!! These chicas seriously inspire me to keep on with what I'm doing! It's like having a family. I love working with cool women in situations like this.Some people work better on their own... and that is cool, too. Nothing is wrong with distrusting orgs or wanting to not work with them. But, for me, I love this group!! ♥Fri at 12:39pm

Basically, the claim that LOLA has been positing is that Brooke Kelley "stole" freedom activist Tennyson McCalla's cell phone (committing theft), "trashed" his hotel room (hence, destroying praivate property), and trying to get into LOLA's suite at the hotel when they didn't want her in there (trespassing onto private property). Interestingly enough, Tennyson McCalla, who contacted Angela Keaton and told her that Brooke didn't steal his phone, did note that Brooke was "irresponsible" for leaving her "dogs in the hotel room." That is definitely a far cry from theft, not to mention destroying and trespassing onto private property in its entirety.

I did not know about this incident until Mariana Evica, with whom I am good friends, told me about it on the phone on Friday morning, which led me to contacting Angela Keaton and Brooke Kelley to gather more information on the incident (so I could blog about it).

McCalla told Amber Danelle and the others this:

Brooke and Chris *did not* steal my phone. As best as I can determine they were trying to return it to me after they thought that I had left it behind and went off to CPAC. But they did leave the dog in the hotel room that I had invited them to stay in.

The news now is that LOLA is going to shut down. That troubles me.Fri at 2:33pm

Then Kelley's next status says the following:

Brooke Kelley dear LOLA: thanx for the good times. you'll always hava special place in my heart. i love you dearly, but i'm off like a prom dress.Thu at 4:54pm · Comment · Like

Other comments on the thread appear as the following:

Steve Belldamnit now i got that image in my head thanks lolThu at 5:01pm

Ian FreemanWhat happened?Thu at 5:12pm

Brooke KelleyThe top officials of Campaign for Liberty put out a message right before Glenn Beck's speech at CPAC (a neocon convention) saying that Ron Paul would denounce and disown any person affiliated with C4L, if they heckle or "harass" Beck at all.

Well, turns out I don't listen very well. There was gonna be a whole big group of us, but everyone backed out, last minute. I called him out at the end of his speech, and not only did C4L turn their backs on me, LOLA dropped me like yesterday's news. ...B.Thu at 5:40pm

Ian FreemanWelcome to politics. The more things change, the more they stay the same. Perhaps you should consider giving up on restoring the republic and join us up in NH as we get the hell out of the republic? ;)Thu at 5:50pm

James FreelanderThat's awful. For what it's worth, I'm proud of you and I'll back you up. LOLA, I'm disappointed =(Thu at 5:53pm

Steve Bellbeck need to be heckled as much as possible he a shill and the perfect example of a Benedict arnold if anyone dosen't know who he is ill post linkhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benedict_ArnoldThu at 5:54pm

Ian FreemanDid you ever post video of the heckling?Thu at 5:57pm

Brooke Kelleyno shit, eh. there is no restoring the republic, and i've been workin on independent projects lately-like PuZzLeD (Reality Show about Liberty Kids Fighting for Freedom) and Operation Defuse. At what point is C4L gonna stop sittin around talkin about freedom, and actually start being free, and letting others around them BE Free!?Thu at 5:58pm

Ian FreemanWhen they stop believing in politics? Which as a political organization, isn't very likely. Especially since it pays their bills.Thu at 6:00pm

Brooke KelleyCome Pay for Liberty!!

But Ian, GET THIS-the LOLA girls were planning to get the whole group together, to heckle Beck too, and "bring down the neocons". But when C4L nationals said no, their plan shifted quite dramatically.Thu at 6:03pm

Ian FreemanDoes LOLA get money from C4L?Thu at 6:11pm

Brooke Kelleyno. C4L makes LOLA pay them (for booths and stuff) but allison and the board wants LOLA girls to PAY them to have chapters. report to the top and stuff. it's too bad too, cuz LOLA has the potential to be so much better than the average sorority. ...B.Thu at 6:14pm

Catherine Cointelpro BleishYeah girl. Let's go be activists and let the socialites be socialites ;) proud to still be an austin lola, disenfranchized as I may be from national lol ♥Thu at 6:17pm

Ian Freemanlol @ the sorority commentThu at 6:19pm

Dan TuckerHmmm, I was there and I remember being told to stop heckling everyone... but you must have got the word pretty late. It started with the panel of students and it seemed many of the YAF students were in training for Fox News comentators... with a Rhupert Murdock Mushroom Cloud Foreign Policy. I think they are all "Twelvers".Thu at 6:37pm

Scott Geyer ⓋFYI Liberty on the Rocks doesnt make people pay to set up chapters.

Ian, I do see a voluntaryist in the making in Brooke. I told her Keene's where she needs to go to find the serious activism.Thu at 6:48pm

Ian FreemanBrooke already made a splash here once:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AyCcQZ3coMQhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qy_hjwbaE7YThu at 7:00pm

Scott Geyer ⓋYeah, I have a habit of telling her things she already knows. Like the message I sent her about the left right paradigm, divide and conquer ideologue.

Oh and thanks for doing that show on it.Thu at 7:19pm

Scott Geyer ⓋOh I remember watching that. I didnt realize it was Brooke. That was awesome. She also did a video with Anarcho-Jesse about gardening.Thu at 7:22pm

Mariana EvicaOhhhh Brooke, you rock. I support you 100%.Thu at 7:27pm

Tracy Ward ⓋThe more I hear, the less I agree. Sounds less like liberty and more like democracy. Not good.Thu at 7:27pm

Angela AronoffLOLA has chapters all over the country that dont pay to LOLA National. They don't really have much to do with C4L other than being at the same conferences.

I think the way LOLA intended to call out neo cons was with the anti-war panel (great event btw).

Surely they wouldn't drop you just for calling out Glenbeck?Thu at 7:29pm

Ryan HopkinsWe cannot enter into alliances until we are acquainted with the designs of our neighbors.- Sun TzuThu at 7:34pm

Brooke KelleyAngela Keaton writes: "You scared the bejeebus out of an old guy (Ron Paul for frig's sake is someone's grampa-what the hell is wrong with you?)"Thu at 7:39pm

Ryan HopkinsWatch them label you as an extremist in the media now...such bullshit.Thu at 7:50pm

Brooke KelleyAnd no, Angela, there was talk in the Atlanta meeting, of LOLAs agreeing to group heckle Glenn Beck.

Me and Catherine Bleish were very vocal AGAINST paying "to use the name" (you know, the one we ALL helped to create) and then the subject of payment was dropped. I have a feeling it'll come back up again, but if enuf people become unhappy with it, they may drop it just in realization of how it makes them look bad. ...B.Thu at 7:53pm

Brooke KelleyI am an extremist, Ryan. I love Liberty, and I'll DO ANYTHING--shy of violence--I will Stop at NOTHING to accomplish that goal. That's pretty extreme in this society.

LIVE FREE or Get Kicked Outa Ron Paul Circle tryin!! ...B.Thu at 7:57pm

Jim DavidsonBrooke, I was waiting to buy a case of LOLA calendars. So now I'll be buying from you an Catherine, looks like. I've been seeing a lot wrong from an activist standpoint with C4L - hierarchy, decisions made from on high, activists, including activist candidates being kicked in the teeth. Wrote a long note about it, which TLE published. I'm with you for freedom, Brooke. And to hell with the stupid old men.Thu at 8:13pm

Brooke Kelleybuy LOLA calendars from catherine bleish or tracy ward. i have a few that someone gave to me, but i don't sell them. ...B.Thu at 8:21pm

Jim DavidsonReminds me of that David Bowie song lyric, "These children that you spit on as they try to change their world, are immune to your consultations, they're well aware what they're goin' thru"Thu at 8:28pm

Brooke KelleyLOVE that song you posted regarding this, Jim! THANK YOU!! So sweet. ...B.Thu at 8:40pm

Jim DavidsonDoin' my part. You are important. The hierarchy and the leaders from on high can be real jerks. Freedom isn't obtained by kicking our friends under the bus.Thu at 8:44pm

Adam TilsleySorry for what happened to you. Always remember..when one door closes, another one opens. Continue to fight the good fight! :)Thu at 8:44pm

Brooke Kelleyno worries, adam. no worries. had they come to me before and said that not only will ron paul denounce me--but LOLA too--if i dare stand up and actually LIVE FREE--i still woulda done it.

i went there with a job to do, and i did it.

it's too bad a chunk of the movement turned their backs on me for holding the media accountable for their disgusting actions. i'm not sad tho. i'm motivated. now more than EVER. catherine has been going thru a very similar situation with them too. ... See More

just wait and see how we bounce back. Liberty Kids don't stop--and they are not stoppable. ....B.Thu at 8:55pm

Buddy GuthrieYeah it really is a shame the game of politics gets played, the game of politics makes us all forget what we are all about, to an extent you have to do that to get to the winners circle, and I do get that, but if you sell your soul to win, even if you do win, do you ever win anything?Thu at 9:03pm

Jim DavidsonThe corruption and brutality which result from excessive politics are not going to be resolved by the application of more politics.Thu at 9:05pm

Molli SkyeBrooke, you will definitely be missed.But all the power to you, woman!

LOLA has not been turning out at all as I'd anticipated. The idea of a central organization trying to "control" everything goes against the very grain of most of us in this movement. If there's corruption in a small organization, then how can we expect people in much larger and higher institutions to not be corrupt? That makes us no better than those we are fighting.... See MoreHopefully the chapters continue to work out.Thu at 11:27pm

Jim DavidsonIn my experience, women who want to make something of a modelling career are better off working with professionals. My friend Cyan Banister has started Zivity.com with excellent results.Thu at 11:29pm

John DelanoWe need more people to get out and get attention. Too many of us (like me) are too shy about starting things like this. Brooke seems to push things a bit, but those people tend to make things happen.

When you get PuZzLeD up and going with it's new site, you should get some ads for it on some of the podcasts where thre would be friendly listeners.Fri at 1:36am

John Delanohttp://www.facebook.com/antiwarradio?v=feed&story_fbid=327169319068Fri at 1:38am

Jim DavidsonThat's hilarious, John. I was just having a conversation with Scott Horton on that very FB page about Brooke Kelley and Stephen Schoppe being thrown under the bus by C4L. Horton was vicious and hateful, so I removed him as a friend. He just lost a major contributor to Antiwar. I wrote him a message inquiring what he was doing with C4L as the "Featured Cause" on his FB page, and he called me a douche. Seriously angry guy that Scott Horton.Fri at 1:45am

John DelanoRe:Scottcan somebody follow as Many wars as closely as he does without becoming an angry person?

Listen to some of his first shows to see how angry he has become. Somebody needs to do what Scott does.Fri at 3:22am

Jim DavidsonNow that Brooke has her prom dress off, maybe we can get her to do some of that stuff. -smile- I'd rather support Brooke's activism and enthusiasm, which has a sincerity in which I believe. Scott, in addition to acting like a dick toward me (and no condom on his head) seems hypocritical.Fri at 3:30am

Brooke KelleyScott has every right to be mad. But name calling and slander? If he can't handle his job, he needs to maybe check into janitorial work or something. ...B.Fri at 10:36am

Brooke KelleySo okay. I talked to Angela Keaton last nite who further bitched me out, but informed me that the MAIN reason why I was kicked out of LOLA was not because of the Glenn Beck thing so much as me asking Ron Paul if he thinks it's important that people know the truth about 9-11. Apparently that's offensive to LOLA to poke around askin valid questions.

I know RP's stance on 9-11. He wants to pretend like it never happened. That's his deal. I'm not tryin to bust him out. I sincerely wanted to know if he was expecting his people to hush about it, because that's EXACTLY the kind of affect his silence is having on this movement!!

His answer--and Angela's exact words to me .. in a vid to follow .. PuZzLeD ep. 4 COMING SOON!!... See More

So I was confused. C4L kicked me out, because I asked Glenn Beck a question, and LOLA kicked me out, because I asked Ron Paul a question. Sorry for the confusion, y'all! Hope that clears it all up. ....B.Fri at 10:44am

-Rita QuinnBrooke, I know you're not too happy with me because I've defended LOLA in the past. I want you to know that I am done doing that... like Cat, I'm not happy with the way things are being run at the national level of LOLA and have tried to appeal to the "board" repeatedly to deaf ears. I feel that until Allison no longer has ties to C4L she can NOT ... See Morebe the ED LOLA needs because she is controlled by C4L since they, not LOLA, pay her salary. I've always been upset at their lack of transparency and strategic plans and have watched for months as most "official" LOLA activity has centered around how to make money, without any real plans or vision of what to do with it to forward the cause of liberty. As for this decision to "vote" you out, I can tell you that there was never a public vote among the LOLAs (I certainly wasn't asked to vote and I've talked to others who weren't either) so I can only assume that you were lied to if you were told you were "voted" out. It's more likely that it was actually just discussed among the 4 board members, who I personally feel sadly lean toward tyrannically tactics when faced with difficult situations and people they don't like (such as how this situation with you played out). Making this public statement will probably get me, now, kicked out of LOLA but I've been a thorn in their side the last few months too. I've just done it more privately and have tried to really give them time to change course. I don't know the specifics around your particular situation, but the bottom line for me is that you have the RIGHT to free speech and if the reason given for you being kicked out was for using it, then LOLA is a travesty to freedom and that makes me both angry and sad, because as you know, I've been one of it's biggest cheerleaders since day one. Even to the point of hurting you. I'm really sorry for everything and will continue to support you in your own activities. LOLA Austin will continue to do the work we're doing... and if you're ever in the 'hood' you're welcome to join us. :)Fri at 11:30am

But the problem is far from over. Amber Danelle and I got into a tiff over the matter yesterday. Our responses to each other (including Jim Davidson's) pretty much say it all:

Amber DanelleWow. :-)Todd & Brooke.... you two have a lot of angry people as friends/fans... they have no real idea what my real position on this is. Yet they are balls out angry about it.Yesterday at 10:27am ·

Todd Andrew Barnett ⓋIf they're angry about this entire incident involving Brooke, good. I hope they are angry about it. I am not a happy camper about it too.

If they're angry that I brought this matter to the public and talked about the lack of transparency that goes on in LOLA and the refusal of the organization to take responsibility for its own fuck-ups, then they... See More're barking up the wrong tree. They should be pissed at LOLA for how it handled this mess, not cast aspersions or attack people in the movement who refuse to bow down to and kowtow to their demands.

If they're angry that LOLA has been pulling this crap, good. I hope they are angry about it. And I hope they're angry enough to demand that LOLA wises up and change for the better.Yesterday at 11:12am ·

Jim DavidsonIf we have no idea what evil, vicious, tyrannical positions you are taking in "this" it is because you, Amber, are not open and transparent about your positions. It is all some game to you to get listeners to your stupid online "radio" show. Screw you and your "friend" request. You aren't my friend, and you know it. You aren't for transparency ... See Moreand openness in government, you are for secret trials and water boarding, as your own actions clearly illustrate. If you were dying in a fire, I wouldn't piss on you.Yesterday at 7:19pm ·

Todd Andrew Barnett ⓋOuch! That hoits, Jim! HehYesterday at 7:22pm ·

Amber DanelleJim: It's all good. If you want to listen to how Zaira & I feel about this incident tomorrow, then please tune in. Some other LOLAs may be calling in to let their position be known, as well. If you don't wanna hear it, I'm not too concerned. I just don't feel that it's necessary to disrupt people's lives with constant negative FB posts. Evil, vicious, tyrannical positions?

Were you loved as a child?

Todd: How is LOLA refusing to take responsibility for it's feck-ups? Are you saying that because the board may want to move past the drama by NOT AIRING DIRTY LAUNDRY... because maybe they feel it is ineffective to speak ill of a former member of LOLA... YOU feel dissatisfied with that? Who runs this organization?? Not you. Not Jim.... See More

Again... if either of you, or any other person who has, like me, wasted time debating-reading-typing-THINKING about this boloney, wants to hear our "side" because you think that you are entitled to it... then tune in to the show tomorrow night. Zaira & I will discuss our side one time and one time only. After that, we move on.LOLA is NOT a government. And you really have no right to demand transparency from us.Soon the core group will be told what happened.Transparency in our group of core ladies (which is NOT small) is important to us.It's not important for us to share drama or unfavorable information about others.Yesterday at 8:18pm ·

Todd Andrew Barnett ⓋIf lack of communication, Allison unwilling to come forward and offer an explanation for the crap that's been transpiring in the group, making baseless accusations against a former member sans evidence and documentation, and resorting to high school drama tactics and antics to shut up many in the movement who have concerns about what's been going ... See Moreon in LOLA for months "taking responsibility for its fuck-ups," then it has an uncanny way of showing it.

Your response amounts to deliberate intellectual dishonesty. In other words, you're purposely full of shit.

I'll comment further shortly, but I am in the middle of a phone call.Yesterday at 9:30pm ·

What's very disappointing about this is that Amber and her co-host Zaira of Truth A to Z kept posting the following notice under various threads (including mine):

Amber DanelleFellow humans,

We at “Truth A to Z” appreciate freedom of speech and are therefore exercising it to say we wholeheartedly agree with the statements made by Kim Johnson and Amber Danelle. We stand firmly behind the principles of liberty and demand that others stop to think about current events in light of truth. Our show format derives from our understanding that truth is in fact varied and that people hold different truths. However, we believe freedom is our one common bond. We all know that situations arise, precisely because people see the truth differently. In those cases, we should still judge people based on their actions.

Sunday, at 7 p.m. Pacific time on Boldvoices.tv Channel 40, we will be discussing the said matter on our show as we engage in our liberty activism. We should always keep in mind the non-aggression principle (avoiding a needlessly confrontational approach) and that we stand behind the idea that activists should be professional and civilized, unless it becomes necessary to be aggressive towards an enemy, as in military or police. We feel strongly that there’s a nefarious desire out there, by those who keep us bound, to thrive on our infighting. We want to extend to all of you a warm invitation to hear our truths about the difference between what's effective and what's wasting our time.... See More

If you're interested, tune in this Sunday at 7 p.m. Pacific time at www.boldvoices.tv Channel 40.

The Board of Directors of the Ladies of Liberty Alliance upheld the decision of the interim chairwoman to remove Brooke Kelley from the LOLA roster due to trespass, theft and physical destruction of private property at a political event. Such actions are in violation of the non aggression principle which binds all libertarians in a spirit of non-violence including aversion to force and fraud.

No further comment will be made.

In Liberty,

Kimberly JohnsonInterim Vice ChairLadies of Liberty Alliance

(The comments on this thread can be read at the link above, provided that one has a Facebook account.)

Upon following the outcome of the events of this past week, I have to say that this bickering between friends and allies is absolutely discouraging and wrong. Brooke, I understand that you are upset that the reasons you were asked to leave LOLA may have not been based on 100% truth, but going around and trying to drive division within this important liberty organization appears to be more of a personal vendetta rather than trying to hold them accountable for a mistake.

I have watched you trash the entire organization for the past few days, while LOLA has released one press release on the issue. If you could have resolved this issue in private rather than airing dirty laundry everywhere, we would all be better off. Sometimes we must stand up as men and women of liberty, admit that some of the blame falls upon oneself, and move on. Don't get me wrong Brooke; I think you do great work and I have been watching a lot of what you do. But the reaction you took regarding the incident seriously made me question whether or not you care more about liberty or your own ego.

To my fellow activists that have taken sides in this issue: I understand standing up for your friends when they are being attacked. However I have seen multiple people not only side with Brooke (which is not wrong), but trash LOLA without even considering that you were collectively trashing a lot of activists that have been in the struggle for a long time. If I were to make a mistake, or even been accused of making a mistake, I would hope that my friends would stick up for me. That does not give you carte blanche to attack and slander simply because you disagree with a decision that was collectively made within an organization! I commend anyone that reacted appropriately, asked questions, and came to a factual conclusion before jumping on a side; you are a true free thinking individual.

Brooke, please consider the words I have written above for the sake of peace, love and liberty.

Corey MooreActivistHost of "Voice of Radical Dissent"Co-founder of Kent State Libertarians

Here's my take on this entire matter: it's nothing but pure high school drama that is highly unneeded and unnecessary in the libertarian movement. But, more importantly, what LOLA has done to Brooke was wrong. If she were guilty of anything, then where's the evidence and documentation that proves that she's guilty as sin for committing the charges as given?

She may not be a saint, and she may be a "radical," but we need radicals like her in the movement. I took issue with Brooke for her unwise defense of Ron Paul who called for his supporters to throw in their weight behind Neo-Con Republican congressional candidate Lamar Smith. However, I never had a problem with her in the movement.

I don't buy into the argument that Brooke has lied to the members of LOLA or has acted against the interests of the movement. If she did, where's the evidence? And why the need for the histrionics over this tawdry and absurd matter? More than that, what has LOLA done for liberty? How many women has the group brought into the movement? I have not seen such evidence of this kind.

Plus, it does not help that LOLA has been cozy with C4L, considering that Gibbs works for that organization and earns a sweet salary. Considering she is on their payroll, that brings up another point: isn't collecting a salary and being the ED of a pro-Liberty women's group a clear-cut conflict of interest? I would assume so, considering LOLA was organized to promote the interests of the libertarian -- and not the conservative -- movement, yet she is working for an organization that is promoting the interests of the conservative -- and not the libertarian -- movement at all. And while we're on that topic, how about the fact that Nena Bartlett, a former LOLA Core member**, has gone on from working as the Development Director at the CATO Institute to working for the Rand Paul for Senate campaign. Oh, and let's remember that Sarah Palin endorsed Rand Paul, and Paul accepted her endorsement.

Thus, it's funny that Angela Keaton, whose own employer Antiwar.com has gotten financial support from C4L and is still getting it, accuses Kelley of violating the Non-Aggression Principle (NAP) when her employer is doing it by siding with an organization that supports pro-war candidates. It's also funny that, in a screaming voice in my ear on my phone, she will "destroy" anyone who sides with Kelley and declare that they do not support the NAP simply by making deals with people like David Boaz and Tom Palmer of CATO, the Libertarian National Committee's Aaron Starr and Bill Redpath, yet she will not criticize LOLA for having a former board member Barlett for her Neo-Con connections to CATO. THAT is a direct violation of the Non-Aggression Principle. But, then again, try telling her that.

Another ridiculous aspect to LOLA is that its calendars, when they were first launched in the fall of 2009, were priced at $20. Since then, the calendars have been priced at $9.95, which is the price that should have been the entire time. But, according to several sources in the know, Gibbs wanted them at the price of $20, which has led to the calendars becoming a dismal failure sales-wise. Why would anyone honestly pay $20 for a calendar when someone can go to their local pharmacy or grocer and find calendars in stock that sell for under $10?

And, based on the claims posited by Keaton, Gibbs, Dynia, and Danelle, I find the allegations to be quite apocryphal.

Not only that, I believe that these recent tactics are designed to shut up dissenters and opponents of the decisions made by the organization itself. There are now plans for Austin LOLA to rename itself***, and, according to a couple of the group's activists, the organization is on the verge of shutting down.

As of this writing, Keaton has cut me out of the circle. This is her private message to me, Jim Davidson, and Tennyson McCalla on Facebook regarding this, along with her claim that Jim does not support the NAP:

Jim,

You don't support the NAP. Sorry, babe, but I have to cut you all out of the loop. I made my statement clear. Have documented evidence.

Please refer all further correspondence to our attorney. Any further contact form any of you is unwelcome.

Peace,Angela

LOLA might want to change its name to Ladies of Lying Intelligent Tyrants Alliance (LOLITA). It fits the authoritarian mindset of the powers-that-be who run the operation, which appears to be a Mickey Mouse front for the GOP.

Be advised. There is a purge of radicals occuring right now in the tea party and freedom movement alike. Stay pure. Do not worry. Consistency is difficult at first, but pays off in the long run. Stay strong. Choose freedom

I don't think the radicals are being purged from the movement, but they are being silenced for speaking out against the Neo-Cons who have taken over C4L and, as it appears, LOLA, not to mention the entire movement.

Other than that, I agree with John. Pro-Liberty activists, as ideologically pure as they are, must remain vigilante and strong. Stand up to the statists. LOLA and C4L are all about statism and tyranny now and not about liberty.

That must count for something, no matter how insane it seems to the non-purists.

[H/T to Brooke Kelley for the great title she came up for this post last night.]

[Note: I want to point out that I have no qualms with the other good ladies of LOLA, including Rita Quinn, Catherine Bleish, and Molli Skye. These are fine ladies who are radicals (a.k.a. purists) in the movement, and we need more people like them.]

[*Correction: According to one source, there was no meeting by the LOLA Core to boot Kelley, what was widely believed notwithstanding. LOLA decided to boot her from the roster on the spot.]

[**Correction: Nena Bartlett is actually still on the LOLA Core board. I erroneously thought that she was no longer on the board because her picture was not on the group's website. Apologies are given to the readers because of the inaccuracy of this information.]

[***Correction: Austin LOLA is actually reviewing its relationship with LOLA and has yet to decide what it will do. It has not immediately decided to rename itself as a different group. Apologies are given to the readers because of the unverified and unconfirmed veracity of this information.]

About Me

Pro-Liberty Poems

Let Liberty Ringby Teresa A. Bridges-Kemp

Let liberty ringThroughout this great landLet liberty ringIt’s time for the people to make a standLet liberty ringLet our voices ring clear and trueLet liberty ringOur freedoms are up to me and youLet liberty ringLike our forefathers wrote aboutLet liberty ringLet it give its mighty shoutTo allow liberty to be a realityWe must wake up and standFor all that we know and believeWe the people are the ones who have control of this landAnd our own sweet Liberty!

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A Foreign Policy of Non-interventism Quotes

"Peace, honest friendship, and commerce with all nations; entangling alliances with none." -- 3rd President Thomas Jefferson in his First Inaugural Address, March 4, 1801

"But she does not go abroad, in search of monsters to destroy." - Sec. of State John Quincy Adams in reference to America to the Congress, July 4, 1821.

"War is the health of the state." - Randolph Bourne, a progressive writer whose quote happens to be the title of his unfinished essay which he never completed at the time of his death in 1918.

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Words of Wisdom from LLR Publisher and Editor Todd Andrew Barnett

"A society that embraces the conventional wisdom saying that government is the be-all and end-all to every problem in the world is a society that embraces tyranny, violence, theft, and the initiation of force against our neighbors." -- on the American people's support of the state.

"A society operating under the paradigm of a true unrestricted free market and without a state is the society that best achieves liberty." -- on what human liberty should mean to American society and the entire world.

Pro-Liberty Quotes

"God forbid we should ever be twenty years without such a rebellion. The people cannot be all, and always, well informed. The part which is wrong will be discontented, in proportion to the importance of the facts they misconceive. If they remain quiet under such misconceptions, it is lethargy, the forerunner of death to the public liberty. ... And what country can preserve its liberties, if it's rulers are not warned from time to time, that this people preserve the spirit of resistance? Let them take arms. The remedy is to set them right as to the facts, pardon and pacify them. What signify a few lives lost in a century or two? The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time, with the blood of patriots and tyrants. It is its natural manure." -- Thomas Jefferson, in a letter to William S. Smith, November 13, 1787